The FBI has been assembling a massive database of biometric information on tens of millions of people for the last eight years—faces, fingerprints, iris scans, tattoos, and more.

Yet, the FBI has dragged its feet in complying with federal privacy laws, resulting in a scathing indictment by the Government Accountability Office for hiding important information about the scope of its face recognition program from the public. The FBI has further failed to address fundamental flaws with the facial recognition system’s accuracy, which may disproportionately impact communities of color.

Now, the FBI wants to sidestep crucial privacy protections. It’s rushing to exempt its Next Generation Identification database from parts of the Privacy Act. This proposal would deny you the right to know what information the database has on you and eliminate the FBI’s obligation to correct inaccurate data.

The federal Government Accountability Office just published its exhaustive report on the FBI’s face recognition capabilities. The takeaway: FBI has access to hundreds of millions more photos than we ever thought. And the Bureau has been hiding this fact from the public—in flagrant violation of federal law and agency policy—for years.

EFF Updates

Along with numerous other human rights organizations, EFF has been following a growing threat to free expression online in Egypt. We’re calling on the international community to demand an end to violations against digital and human rights defenders.

If you can’t beat them, defund them. If you can’t defund them, stall them. Congress is trying every trick it can to keep the FCC from enforcing its Open Internet Order. Help us tell lawmakers to cut it out.

As House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi is perfectly positioned to stop the TPP. If she took a public stance against the agreement, that could kill the deal once and for all. Let’s call on her to defend our digital rights and take the lead in opposing this deal.

In a dangerously flawed decision, a federal district court in Virginia ruled that a criminal defendant has no “reasonable expectation of privacy” in his personal computer, located inside his home. According to the court, the federal government does not need a warrant to hack into an individual’s computer.

Remember that scary bill in California that would have given the state a copyright over virtually everything it produces? Thanks to many of you in California speaking up to your Assembly members, the dangerous parts of the bill have been completely removed.

What happens when you try to push a dangerous policy through without the Internet noticing? The Internet fights back. When we warned of an impending rule change that would dramatically increase law enforcement’s authority to hack into computers, thousands of you spoke out to Congress.

It’s time to lift the cloak of secrecy that has shielded the NSA from judicial scrutiny. EFF served the agency with information requests late last week in Jewel v. NSA, our signature case challenging government surveillance. We are seeking answers to basic questions about the nuts and bolts of the government’s Internet and telephone mass surveillance programs.

Announcements

Join EFF Staff Technologist Jeremy Gillula for a discussion on drones. He’ll give background on how drones work and why they’re suddenly so popular and discuss some of the privacy and security issues that they present.June 30, 2016Moraga, CA

Join EFF at the annual festival of music, art, and communication. EFF Director for International Freedom of Expression Jillian York will speak about free speech on corporate platforms.June 30, 2016Mecklenburg, Germany

EFF Software Engineer Bill Buddington will present a workshop on digital security. He’ll discuss how to protect yourself from online tracking and how to ensure that your operating system and messaging applications are safe and secure.July 7, 2016Mexico City, Mexico

We are excited to be a part of the Eleventh HOPE conference! HOPE (Hackers on Planet Earth) returns to New York for its eleventh iteration this year, hosted by our friends at 2600.July 22–24, 2016New York City, NY

Join EFF at Black Hat Briefings! Check out the EFF presentations and stop by our information booth in the Business Hall to find out about the latest developments in protecting digital freedom.August 3–4, 2016Las Vegas, NV

Join EFF at DEF CON 24! Catch EFF speakers and stop by our information booth in the Vendor and Contest areas to find out about the latest developments in protecting digital freedom. You can even sign up as an EFF member and pick up some great swag!August 4–7, 2016Las Vegas, NV